A Canadian politician has proposed a law allowing Ontario’s attorney general to criminalize “offensive remarks” within 100 meters of a drag show, including so-called drag queen story hours for children.
If passed, the measure would create a football field-size “2SLGBTQIA+ community safety zone” around drag shows and other LGBT events in Ontario. Anyone who protests within the zone would be subject to a $25,000 fine under the legislation.
“Any homophobic, transphobic act of intimidation, threat, offensive threats, offensive remarks, protest, disturbance, and distribution of hate propaganda” would be prohibited by law if the bill passes, sponsor Kristyn Wong-Tam said Tuesday in a press conference.
Wong-Tam, who has represented Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since last year, uses the personal pronouns “they/them” and reportedly identifies as nonbinary.
Joining Wong-Tam for the press conference were a wizard, a witch, two drag queens, two people wearing masks, a white woman, a white man, a child, and a disabled minority.
“Drag artists have faced threats and intimidation all across Ontario over the past year,” Wong-Tam, a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party, said in a press release. “Businesses and 2SLGBTQI+ community members are being told that they can’t be out and proud from Thunder Bay to Hamilton, to Guelph, to Stratford, to Welland, Ottawa, and even Toronto. New Democrats are giving Ford’s Conservatives a chance to stop hate—today—by passing my private member’s bill.”
Canada has a recent history of woke legislation. A new law passed last year requires parents, pastors, counselors, friends, and others to affirm a person’s gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, or face jail time.
In America, drag shows are a key component of radical gender ideology. In 2021, a children’s show on PBS featured drag queen and author Lil Miss Hot Mess singing, dancing, and reading a book about drag queens to an intended audience of 3- to 8-year-olds. The Smithsonian American Art Museum hosted a “Pride Family Day” event over the summer featuring an “age-appropriate” drag queen show for children age 3 and up.
Republican lawmakers in states including Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and Arizona have proposed bills to prohibit drag shows for children.
A constitutional lawyer based in Manitoba, Canada, Allison Kindle Pejovic, said the Ontario bill “would penalize free speech and the right to protest, both of which are protected under Canada’s constitution.”
“What is notable about this bill is that it is content-specific, targeting specific speech, while other speech and protests which may be offensive to different communities would be allowed,” Pejovic told Fox News Digital.
Wong-Tam did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on the legislation.
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